Our last article and video about getting more distance in golf left off in the pre-impact position. At the pre-impact stage of the golf swing, the weight has shifted to the front foot, wrists are still fully cocked in a lag position and the trailing elbow is tucked in tightly to the body underneath the lead arm.
Now it’s time for impact and finish in the golf swing. Watch the video below this article to learn the specific wrist movements and right arm delivery into the impact zone of the golf swing to unload all that lag. Then learn what the hips do through the downswing going into a tall, balanced finish.
Remember to leave your comments, and if you haven’t joined our email list, sign up to get the most timely updates and new golf swing tips. Enjoy the video and thanks for watching. – Herman
Private golf lessons in Raleigh are available directly from Herman Williams at The Golf Academy. Or if you aren’t in the Raleigh area but still want to get Hermanized, you can email Herman your swing video for analysis and get an online golf lesson starting at only $49.95.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Herman, I’ve been hitting golf balls in a indoor dome working on
the transition and impact finish.What I found was I’m hitting my driver
square on the sweet spot but my six iron is off center towards the heal
of the club.I don’t know if this is an over the top move or if I’m pulling my
hands in and coming across the ball.
My bad shots when I’m playing golf are that I do pull my irons at times
or hook my driver.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you
gord…
Most guys heel it with an in to out path or excessive flip or hand rolling before impact. Over the top swings cutting across the ball most often toe the ball as the player pulls the arms into the body at impact. However there are plenty of instances where outside/in swings can and do strike the heel. Without some video, I would have to go by your divots to know what your path is doing. Lay a shaft at your feet ans setup squarely on a known target, then check your divot direction. If divot is pretty straight look for the flippy wrist problem, setting up too close to it or body movement toward the ball in your swing. If divots are offline, start working on your swing path. Good luck.
Love the site!
When I hit my 4 iron hybrid I seem to have a little more success (same distance with better accuracy) when I de-emphasize “trapping” the ball and “sweep” it a little more. Should I do something differently or is the a reasonable observation?
Thanks, Larry the lagged.
Larry, you said it perfectly. I would think a little more “sweeping” with the hybrid. A slightly more forward ball position is sometimes enough to take care of it, but I’m sure your gut instincts about what you’re feeling are fine. I’m thinking about trapping the ball with 7-iron thru wedges and not so much above that. We golf instructors run into so many casters from the top, it’s hard to tell each person how much to exaggerate this stuff until we see them in action. Thanks for stopping by. – Herman
Thanks Herman, just what i’ve been looking for.Your 3 videos on Get more
Distance was excellence.Finally somebody has explained transition,the lag and the moment of truth..impact…. I have been struggling with this for years.No more flipping. Can’t wait to work on it.
I think i’ve just been …. HERMANIZED
Thanks again…
Happy New Year.
Herman….really like your video’s. I recently purchased a Casio EX-FH100 to video my swing. (I saw where this was one of your suggest.) What are the settings you suggest for the best quality?
I turn the knob on top to one of the manual settings. I don’t have my camera with me right now and can’t remember which setting … maybe “A” , “M” or “S”.
Then go into the shutter speed settings and set that up to 1/2000th per second if light is good. 1650 does well, 2500 works well in full sunlight but you will notice the images appear darker at these higher shutter speeds.
Then select your frame rate for filming. I think both 120 and 240 frames per second give plenty of detail. Higher settings create huge files that take too long to deal with in my opinion. Good luck with your filming … that’s a great camera for golf. – Herman
Been working all season on a later release but tape showing still not there. “Old school” teachers used to suggest hitting with more “left hand”. Do you think this is still a valid swing thought to help with what we’re talking about here?
Maybe not depending on the interpretation. Most “old school” advice is that golf is a left-sided game. Focusing on a left-sided approach generally leads to pulling the left arm and leaving the face open which often leads to casting. So I’d advocate that it is equally two-sided. The left forearm must definitely be able to rotate thru impact squaring the back of left hand but beware of forceful left-sided pulling. Often the left side will pull and right side will push or be too slow and casting will result. Ultimately, the right side should aggressively tuck in and then overtake the left hand thru impact as right arm extends thru the ball. When you think about the right side/right hand & arm, they actually have to travel farther to crossover the left arm and extend to target. Therefore the right side must be very involved … remember Ben Hogan wanted “3 right hands.” Check the comment I left for Mike on this post. Long answer … but try to get both sides involved. Left forearm rotating as back of hand turns down, right arm leading with right elbow then thrusting thru the shot to extend to target. Good luck and thanks for commenting. – Herman
Sounds like fun. I’ll try it this weekend on the range. On a somewhat different subject, experience says trying to do several new things at the same time is probably impossible as I’m sure you would agree. If it were you, how would you approach a new move like this in an organized, patient manner in order to maximize the chance of improvement?
I would shrink the swing down and start with a wedge. Take a backswing with full wrist hinge only going back to waist-high with the hands … hands roughly at 9 o’clock. Right elbow will already be low and tucked in if you stop here with full wrist hinge. Now pull forward equally with both hands and right elbow. Then let right arm fire out and overtake the left. Finish with hands at 3 o’clock forearms crossed over and club extended targetward. This drill works quicker than anything else. It lets you feel the club tuck in and then fire out as it rolls over, and it is contained in a small enough swing you can actually see and feel it happen. Hit 5 sets of 4 shots this way before branching out into larger swings. Then alternate 4 small training shots followed by 4 full shots. Rinse and repeat.
Good luck. – Herman
Hit about 4-500 balls over the weekend not counting “playing” about 20 holes or so. Definitely got that “thwack” sound on many hits. Left shoulder, arms, elbows kind of sore probably due using muscles not used before, mabey overdoing it a bit, and hitting many more shots than usual fat. Payed special attention to pushing out on handle with the left hand and getting the hands cocked more. Got the feeling ‘how can I hit this ball with the club so far behind me’. So for me its definitely a new way to hit the ball and is going to take some work. I’m definitely into it and feel that even though I’m a decent player that I’m not swinging at the ball properly. So thanks, Herman, for clueing me in on some stuff and explaining it so fluently.
Your latest video is like you were watching me swing lately. I often extend my R arm too soon not holding the lag, scooping and hitting the ball fat as a result. I will work on that elbow into the hip move.
Thanks for commenting Mike. I had my x-ray vision on … Seriously though when you go to tuck in that right arm make sure your chest stays “closed” to the target momentarily. If your left shoulder pulls forward or around too soon it will pull on the bottom of the handle and leaves the right arm stuck trailing too far behind to tuck in correctly. If you watch the video closely again, you’ll notice when I’m tucking that elbow my chest points back away from target. More flexible Tour Players are capable of keeping the upper chest back longer while the hips are clearing … this leaves plenty of room to tuck the elbow. Then just be sure you can get rid of those extreme angles quickly and you’ll bomb it. Good luck. – Herman
Thanks for chiming in and sharing your progress. Pace yourself … baby step thru one piece at a time. Small but frequent doses are often better than drawn out marathon training sessions. Good luck. – Herman
While practicing more wrist cock and more lag I stumbled over something that I’d love to have you comment on. You demonstrate in the videos pushing out the handle of the club with the left hand and then you simutaneously pull down on the shaft with the right hand to show the desired result. I found that if I switched to a baseball grip I was able to accomplish this move a lot easier. Pushed out with the left and kind of pulled down with the right at the same time. Heck, I looked like Hogan at the top. Started wacking it too. Waaaaaaay to soon to say ‘ah ha !’ but what do you think?
You are right on the money. The 10-finger grip allows for the most wrist hinge and is often much more comfortable than overlap or interlock. Great observation and thanks for commenting. – Herman